July 26, 2015, 7:59AM

Last Sunday, I wrote about the elimination of voter registration literacy tests in Louisiana after the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The tests and other requirements had been implemented in the late 19th century as a means of suppressing the black vote in the state. Three years before the federal law was passed, a state lawmaker had made... Full story »

April 22, 2015, 10:20AM

After 22 years, Joan Davis finally received the letter. It arrived in January, informing her how much she would be getting under the terms of a class action lawsuit settlement filed against the city, the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish School Board. No matter the amount, Davis knew it could never make her whole. But she... Full story »

April 22, 2015, 10:20AM

They were greeted as heroes, potential saviors who arrived on the doorsteps of a community searching for answers and desperate for help. Five attorneys — Suzette Bagneris, Joe Bruno, Linda Harang, George Roux and Stephen Murray – had joined to take up the case of a neighborhood built on top of a toxic waste dump. They would spend the... Full story »

June 07, 2014, 4:50PM

Salvador "Sam" Anzelmo, a World War II Army band musician who earned two Purple Hearts, an anti-segregation member of the Louisiana House of Representatives in the 1960s and New Orleans' city attorney in the administration of Mayor Dutch Morial, died June 1 in hospice care in DeLand, Fla. He was 93. Mr. Anzelmo was born in Chicago but raised... Full story »

May 13, 2014, 8:15PM

WASHINGTON -- The Mary Landrieu campaign is back up Tuesday with another TV ad, this one featuring her well-known father, Moon, describing his daughter as a fighter. "When you have nine children you're bound to have one who's hard headed," says Moon Landrieu, 83, the former mayor of New Orleans, federal housing secretary and appellate judge. "Dad, you're one... Full story »

November 27, 2013, 11:06AM

What does a school do when it is both the oldest Catholic and girls-only academy in the United States? If said school is Ursuline Academy, celebrate that fact (and raise some funds, too), at the annual La Fete 286. Full story »

September 07, 2013, 6:02AM

City Councilman James Gray pulled an apron over his immaculate white shirt and perfectly knotted tie Thursday and waited on customers during the noon rush hour at Li'l Dizzy's Cafe on Esplanade Avenue. The purpose: to call attention to the low wages paid to many restaurant servers. Gray was among prominent people in various U.S. cities who agreed to be... Full story »

June 04, 2013, 10:53AM

Former Mayor Moon Landrieu (background left) and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu share more than just the top title in New Orleans. Landrieu grins with his son Will,10, as the procession passes them during an interfaith service at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans Monday, May 3, 2010 during the inauguration of Mitch Landrieu as mayor of New Orleans.

April 25, 2010, 12:36PM

THE MOON THE SON, AND THE STARS Antoine's dining room was filled with community leaders Wednesday whenThe Times-Picayune hosted a rousing dinner reception in honor of New Orleans mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu. Among the more than 200 guests were the mayor's parents, Verna and former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu; members of the New Orleans City Council and Louisiana Legislature;... Full story »